RUSI JournalVOLUME 170ISSUE 3

The Strategic Significance of the Maritime Theatre in the Russia–Ukraine War

Professor Alessio Patalano and Dan Hallett
24 April 2025clockLong Read
Ukrainian service people planting a national flag on Snake Island in the Black Sea, 7 July 2022. Courtesy of Zuma Press / Alamy

Ukrainian service people planting a national flag on Snake Island in the Black Sea, 7 July 2022. Courtesy of Zuma Press / Alamy

Assessing success on the maritime front of the Russia–Ukraine war cannot be decoupled from each side’s overall war aims.

Beyond the daring successes of the Ukrainian ‘mosquito fleet’, Alessio Patalano and Dan Hallett argue that Russia’s ability to affect shipping and trade in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov is diminished but not defeated. They suggest that while Ukraine has won the battle to limit Russian sea control, the war to keep the Ukrainian economy solvent remains still very much open as Russia continues to learn from the last three years of conflict at sea.

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WRITTEN BY

Professor Alessio Patalano

Senior Associate Fellow; Professor of War and Strategy in East Asia, War Studies, KCL

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Dan Hallett

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